Peaches and Dreams

By Emma Mulholland | May 6, 2015.

On May 14th, 15th and 16th Temple Bar Gallery will give an inside peek into the minds of the Irish public as the ‘Peachy’ art exhibition displays artworks inspired by the nations’ thoughts, hopes, and dreams.

Image: Facebook

Creative Director Rebecca Bermingham explains how the inspiration behind Peachy came primarily from the love of art and documentary. The concept of mixing art and mental health came about as Peachy “often feel that the idea of our daily mental health gets overlooked.” Peachy’s aim is to “give a sense of beauty to something that can often be viewed negatively, and allowing it to be viewed in a different light.”

Rebecca hopes that by turning the negative stigma around mental health into beautiful art, it will help those who are “isolated, in a quest for happiness or simply just need reminding them that the art , beauty and diversity of our individual mind is to be relished in.”

The exhibition first began to take shape back in March when boxes designed by Jordan Ralph were placed in various locations throughout the city. In these boxes the public could write down their dreams, hopes, fears, thoughts etc.

These were then given to over forty artists who created works inspired by the submissions. These thoughts will hang alongside the works of art to see the transition from pain to beauty.

Peachy were keen to promote Irish talent: “we have such a budding creative community right here in Ireland that we wanted to show it off and unify it with a universal theme” Rebecca explained. Artists include Conor Clinch who has recently become very successful in the world of fashion photography.

All proceeds made from the sale of art works will go to Aware which is an organisation created to help those who suffer from depression and anxiety.

Those behind Peachy felt that their aim for the exhibition mirrored what Aware do on a daily basis. “We wanted create an exhibition that showcases thoughts and regrets that might plague people daily but also an exhibition that people can see an essence of themselves in and their own struggles, and present the ‘taboo’ of mental health in a different light, something that Aware also strive to achieve.” Said Rebecca.

Peachy has taken on an interesting form of advertising, relying solely on the use of stickers distributed randomly not only around the city, but around the world. Peachy’s stickers have been photographed everywhere from St. Patrick’s Park in the Liberties, to Disneyland in Florida.

Head of Social Media Caroline Lynch shares these images on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to promote the exhibition. “We have people bringing the Peachy sticker on holidays and taking pictures. So far it has been to Thailand, Vietnam, Portugal, Spain, France, the Virgin Islands, New York and Kentucky and who knows where else!” She said.

The exhibition is proving to be a success so far with nearly 2,000 people liking their Facebook page, and over 700 people hitting ‘attend’ on their event. Music and food will also be provided at the free exhibition which kicks off on May 14th.